Now Jay and Laura are the ones whose names are making headlines - for a Change.org petition they started in support of friends Cody Renegar and Thomas Staed, a loving and committed Arkansas gay couple who are planning to marry in June 2012. When the couple reached out to share the great news of their engagement with readers of the Northwest Arkansas Times , they were advised that their engagement announcement would not be printed. The paper justified this by reiterating that Arkansas is not yet a state that legally recognizes the marriages of loving and committed gay and lesbian couples.

In a nutshell, the Northwest Arkansas Times' excuse is just that - an excuse.

As do all papers, the Northwest Arkansas Times has an important choice to make here. The paper's leaders can sit idly by while they wait for Arkansas to catch up with the strides being made toward equality in this country OR they can help Arkansas to get there more quickly by setting an example that discrimination has no place in The Natural State.

In 2008, the paper went with the latter, better choice, when they responded favorably to our Announcing Equality survey. At that time, the paper responded to us by saying YES, they were willing to print the wedding announcements of gay and lesbian couples. (They also indicated at the time that they had not printed an announcement in the past.) Clearly something changed between now and then, a move that has set the paper back rather than move it forward.

In a conversation with Rusty Turner, the publisher/editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times, GLAAD was reminded of at least two more occasions in which the paper was a leader in inclusive coverage. Turner reminded us that the paper editorialized in opposition to the proposed Arkansas constitutional ban on adoption by gay and lesbian couples. Around the same time, the paper also featured the profiles of several gay and lesbian couples, all of whom were thriving in their roles as parents. We applaud Turner and the Northwest Arkansas Times for its accurate and inclusive news and editorial coverage, and given its history, we're hopeful that a gentle nudge from you will lead the Northwest Arkansas Times to reaffirm their commitment to inclusivity, particularly with regard to their policy on engagement/wedding announcements.

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